Los Angeles police fatally shoot an armed man they said had taken a hostage after a violent crime spree

By Alta Spells, CNN

A man suspected of a string of crimes, including taking someone hostage and firing a gun at three family members, was fatally shot by police Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Shortly after 4 p.m. local time Friday, police started receiving calls of “a man armed with a gun committing several crimes in the area of 8th and Broadway,” the LAPD said in a series of posts on Twitter.

The suspect, who was not named, had held a gun to another man’s face and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire, police said.

The suspect then moved down the street and entered a business where he encountered three family members, including a 14-year-old.

“The suspect pointed the gun at the group and fired at them. One of those rounds grazed the side of the 14-year-old’s head,” police said.

The teen was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive, police said.

The gunman continued a few blocks down the street, where he tried to carjack a woman standing outside of her vehicle. When that didn’t work, police said, he got into an altercation with a man riding a bicycle, who saw the suspect reaching inside his waistband.

Nearby security officers flagged down LAPD officers who chased the suspect until he ran into an apartment building. At that point, police said they established a perimeter and called for assistance from K9 and SWAT units.

Using surveillance footage from inside the apartment building, officers located the suspect in a hallway. He appeared to be forcing a woman to go with him, they said.

“At that point, we knew we had a hostage situation,” police said. LAPD personnel monitoring the windows of the building could also see “the suspect holding a gun to the hostage’s head.”

Believing the suspect’s actions were “already incredibly violent” and fearing he would kill the hostage, a SWAT team was sent into the building, police said. The incident ended in an officer-involved shooting, police said.

The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, where police said they also recovered a gun.

The hostage was taken to a local hospital. Police did not comment on her condition.

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